Plug-in solar devices, also known as balcony power plants, make it easy to generate solar electricity for personal use. According to Statista, around 866,000 balcony power plants were registered as operating in Germany in the first quarter of 2025. Since last year, condominium owners have had a statutory right to install a plug-in solar device. However, they must first obtain the consent of their co-owners at an owners’ meeting, as the work generally affects jointly owned property. The Wohnen im Eigentum (WiE) consumer protection association explains the best way for owners to proceed and what they need to consider when preparing their proposed resolution if they wish to install such a device.
Balcony power plants: a privileged structural alteration
Since the 2024 amendment to the German Condominium Act, installing a plug-in solar device has been regarded as a privileged structural alteration (Section 20(2)(5)). It therefore has the same status as building work to improve accessibility, burglary protection, e-mobility and high-speed internet access.
This means that “the condominium owners’ association may not reject the request in principle, but it may impose requirements on the nature and manner of the design and implementation,” says Dr Sandra von Möller, a board member of the Wohnen im Eigentum (WiE) consumer protection association. These requirements must be appropriate and reasonable; they must not be disproportionate to the point of preventing the project.
Prepare a proposed resolution and submit it to the owners’ meeting
Although condominium owners have a statutory right, they must first obtain their co-owners’ consent in the form of a permission resolution because the work generally affects jointly owned property. “Anyone who installs the device without a resolution risks having to remove it later,” says von Möller. A simple majority of the votes cast is sufficient for the permission resolution to pass.
Owners should prepare their proposed resolution thoroughly and then submit it to the owners’ meeting. The best approach is for the owner to ask the management as early as possible, by email or post, to place the motion on the agenda and to obtain confirmation.
The proposed resolution should describe the nature, dimensions and scope of the structural alteration precisely. The applicant should consider the following points:
- Choice of device: a plug-in solar device generally consists of up to two solar panels, an inverter and cabling. Under current law, a maximum of 800 watts may be fed into the electricity grid. If the solar panels produce more, the inverter must “throttle” the output accordingly.
- Installation: the device must be secured against storms so that falling parts, for example, do not pose a danger. Installation must comply with generally accepted technical standards, and the manufacturer’s installation instructions and guidance on using the device must be observed. Wherever possible, the device should be positioned so that it does not dazzle other residents.
- Insurance: plug-in solar devices are not regarded as parts of the building; they are the private property of the respective owner or tenant. Anyone installing a plug-in solar device should therefore have personal liability insurance. This generally covers damage to third-party property and personal injury caused by the devices.
- Costs: the owner alone must bear the installation costs and any consequential costs.
Landlords must enforce their tenants’ statutory entitlement
Tenants now also have a statutory entitlement against their landlords to install a plug-in solar device at their own expense (Section 554 of the German Civil Code). This means that “at a tenant’s request, condominium owners who let their flat must secure a permission resolution from the condominium owners’ association, but must also enforce against their tenant any conditions imposed on installing the device,” von Möller explains.
If there is no resolution: bring legal proceedings
If the condominium owners’ association does not pass the permission resolution, the condominium owner’s only remaining option is legal action. They can bring proceedings for a court order replacing the resolution. If the WEG approves the application but imposes disproportionate conditions, the owner must challenge the resolution and at the same time bring proceedings for a court order replacing it.